This invention is related to tools for securing helical spring type wire connectors commonly known as WING NUTS or WIRE NUTS.
In electrical work, wires are typically connected with spring loaded fasteners. These fasteners are small conical devices that often have small protrusions or wings to provide a gripping surface for tightening the connectors. Although these devices are a big improvement over solder and tape splices, and are available in many sizes, they are difficult to place on wires by hand. The size of the connectors are such that they tend to cause hand cramps after many connections have been made. Also, when many wires are connected it is sometimes difficult to obtain sufficient torque on the connectors, creating a poor connection.
To alleviate these difficulties, connector wrenches have been developed to make using the devices easier, and to ensure that all connections are properly torqued. One example of this type of wrench is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,787,948, which discloses a wrench having an oblong head piece that has an opening sized to fit a typical wing type connector. A handle extends from the opposite end of the headpiece from the connector opening. The handle is ratched to allow the entire headpiece to rotate around the connector, thereby tightening the connector. This device has several problems. First, the handle is offset from the opening, making the device awkward dot use. Further, it is hard to obtain proper leverage to make a tight connection because of this thin handle.
Other devices include a small wrench device that is designed to accomodate two different sized connector. This device is generally shaped like a platened cylinder with connector recepticles placed side-by-side in the base. This device is small and must be held by the fingers, much like the connector itself. This device, therefore, will cause the same cramping with repeated use as do the connectors. Also, its small size makes it difficult to obtain good leverage to make solid connections.
Another device is simply a screwdriver that has a hole drilled in its base that is sized to fit a connector. Although this device has some advantages over the others, is also has the drawback of having a metal blade extending from the opposite end. This produces a potential safety problem if the device is used around live electrical circuits. Also the blade could cause injury when the device is being used. The latter devices are produced by Ideal Industries, Incorporated, Sycamore, Ill.